HOW TO BEAT WRITER’S BLOCK? Knowing how is a skill you need when you are stuck writing a book, essay, op-ed, blog post or personal essay. No matter how you refer to it — writer’s block, writers’ block, or writers block — whether it be possessive, plural-possessive or all-inclusive, it is a pernicious problem that seems to plague all writers at some point along the way. Do you feel stuck writing your book? Have you ever felt stuck writing your book? Do you fear getting stuck writing your book? Let’s fix that. [Continue reading]

BUILDING A MEMOIR STRUCTURE is an art and a science, as well as a whole lot of work. But to many, doing so seems to be a task that is avoided, worked-around, ignored and put off as long as possible. That's a shame, because the very process of doing … [Continue reading]

STRUCTURE A MEMOIR, write a memoir, sell a memoir. Sound like a good mantra for the new year? If so, let’s heighten it. Structure your memoir. Write your memoir. Sell your memoir. Sound even better? Well, then you are going to love this next version, … [Continue reading]

DOES WRITING A BOOK FEEL LIKE facing a hazardous obstacle course? It doesn't have to, because the biggest challenges to writing a book are not what you might think. Specifically, when writing memoir, the biggest obstacles are not a lack of material, … [Continue reading]

LIKE YOU, I JUST SAT through several of the highest of emotional high holy days of holidays with friends and family, during which I listened to aspirations and admonitions, many of them told to me in the form of new year resolutions. And … [Continue reading]

About Me

BY WRITING AND TEACHING MEMOIR, I've learned that everyone has a story to tell. My most recent book is "The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text on Writing & Life." (Grand Central). [Read More]

Deadline Calendar

November, 1 2017

The Holiday Season Officially Begins

I know, I know. It once was that “the holidays” did not begin until the day after Thanksgiving. Well, no more. What’s a memoir writer to do? Take notes. And remember that your family will object to your version of the story, no matter how well you write it. Here’s a little coaching on how to cope with that reality.

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November, 2 2017

Let the Knitting — and Writing — Begin

I keep a knitting journal, each year noting when I spot the season’s first knitter, as well as noting each sweater/sock/mitten/scarf I knit, who it’s for, and the date I delivered it. And it would make a great primary source for a memoir. You? What do you do to beat writers’ block?

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November, 13 2017

Lobsters Are On the Move

Right around now lobsters move offshore. According to the lobster research site at the University of New Hampshire, an estimated 20-50% of offshore lobsters are migratory, moving offshore in the winter and spring and inshore in the summer and fall. How far do they go? The juveniles don’t go far, but mature lobsters have an average annual range of about 20 miles. A small number of lobsters migrate very long distances, including one migrant lobster who reportedly moved 798 nautical miles in 3 1/2 years. That’s a long commute.

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November, 16 2017

Time for a Singalong!

On this day in 1907 Oklahoma entered the union as the forty-sixth state. The state’s history as we know it, begins with its Native Americans, whose influence is evident even in the name, derived from the Choctaw Indian words “okla,” meaning people, and “humma,” meaning red. Along the way the state was the topic of a collaboration between the great Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, who made their first joint effort that of the production of their great musical called simply Oklahoma!

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November, 18 2017

Let Me Tell You About Telling Time

On this day in 1883, precisely at noon, North American railroads switched to a new standard time system for rail operations, which they called Standard Railway Time. Almost immediately, many American cities enacted ordinances resulting in the creation of time “zones.” The four standard time zones adopted were eastern standard time, central daylight time, mountain standard time, and Pacific daylight time. Though tailored to the railroad companies’ train schedules, the new system was quickly adopted nationwide, forestalling federal intervention for more than thirty years, until 1918, when daylight saving time was introduced.

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November, 19 2017

Whew. I Mean it: Whew.

According to the Old Farmers Almanac, right around now skunks begin to hibernate. Whew, huh? Got a skunk-dog-phew story? Write it up and read it on the radio.

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November, 22 2017

All Hail the Cranberry!

Behold the cranberry. You probably are, right about now, in fact beholding the cranberry, as you will several times today while you cook some, eat some or store some leftovers. So how about a cranberry fact or two? The cranberry, along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America’s native fruits. First used by Native Americans, who discovered the wild berry’s versatility as a food, fabric dye and healing agent, the name “cranberry” actually is from the Pilgrims, who called it “craneberry,” because of the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring resemble the head and bill of a Sandhill crane. In 1816 cranberries were first successfully cultivated. By 1871, the first association of US cranberry growers had formed. Now, U.S. farmers harvest approximately 40,000 acres of cranberries each year.